bourne, the Belle of the Sea, 64 days from London to Melbourne, and North Wind, 67 days from London to Sydney, N. S. W., were the most celebrated.
There were also many American ships that made the voyage from New York to Melbourne, and among the fast passages may be mentioned those of: the Mandarin, in 71 days; Flying Scud and Nightingale, 75 days; Whirlwind, 80 days; Flying Dutchman and Panama, 81 days; Snow Squall, 79 days, and Ringleader, 78 days. Most if not all these ships loaded in R. W. Cameron's line, and it is worth noting that, of all the great shipping firms that flourished in New York half a century ago, this is the only one which now survives.
It was only natural that ship-owners of Great Britain should feel keenly the invasion of their trade by the American clippers, and in 1855, James Baines & Co. placed an order with Alexander Hall & Co., of Aberdeen, then the leading clipper shipbuilders in Great Britain, for a large clipper ship for the Australian trade, to "outdo the Americans." This vessel was the Schomberg, 2600 tons; length 262 feet, breadth 45 feet, depth 29 feet. She was very sharp forward and had a long, clean run, with considerable dead-rise at her midship section. She was built of wood and heavily sparred, with single topsail yards and three skysails.
When this ship came around from Aberdeen to load at Liverpool for Melbourne, she was greatly admired and it was generally believed that she would prove faster than her American rivals, especially as Captain Forbes, late of the Marco Polo
